Here in Pasadena, CA, we've done this twice. Once in 1999 for a five-venue program of exhibitions and musical concerts called "Radical Past" which focused on the theme of Pasadena as a center for contemporary art activity in the 1960s and 70s. Next in 2001 we did "The Universe: A Convergence of Art, Science, and Music," which focused on mankind's observations of the cosmos. This was an eight-venue collaboration, and has and archive website at http://pasadena-universe.org Now we've proven ourselves nuts enough to have taken on a third one, called "The Tender Land: A Pasadena Festival of Art, History, Music and Science," which will take place in October, 2004, and focus on the theme of the earth, ecology, landscape, and environment. It is a thirteen-venue collaboration, including the Williamson Gallery at Art Center College, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena Museum of History, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens, California Institute of Technology, Shumei Arts Council, One Colorado, Pacific-Asia Museum, Pasadena Symphony, Southwest Chamber Music, Norton Simon Museum, and Pasadena Star News. These collaborations have been quite successful. We've done a catalogue for each and the media attention has been great. Most of us share an opening reception and we've chartered buses to ferry visitors around to each venue during the reception. The first two we did by the seat of our pants, and for the third one we've hired a coordinator. Curatorial, educational, marketing, and fundraising reps from each institution meet monthly, or in specific subcommittees. The Cultural Affairs Division director for the city attends the meetings and is helpful with resources and funding. Each institutiion iterprets the theme on its own, using its own budget. We fundraise for shared costs such as publications and marketing. We've done newspaper ads and street banners. We're inviting other organizations in the city to jump on board as "adjunct partners" -- any and all, the more the merrier. One key to the success of these ventures, I think, is that the partners have not sat in judgement of each others exhibition or program concepts. Each institution independently interprets the theme on their own. The argument could be made, I suppose, that this arrangement lacks quality control. But then an apparatus for curatorial oversight of each venue would not necessarily gaurantee quality either, and runs the risk of being divisive. Thus far, the strategy has worked. Most of the press has been very positive, a couple of the critics have been grumpy, but in all cases the names were spelled correctly! ________________________________________ s t e p h e n n o w l i n [log in to unmask] Vice President, Director, Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery Art Center College of Design 1700 Lida Street Pasadena, CA 91103 626.396.2397 http://www.artcenter.edu/williamson http://www.pasadena-culture.net http://www.artandscience.us ________________________________________ > ---------- > From: Amy Scrivner > Reply To: Museum discussion list > Sent: Friday, November 21, 2003 2:54 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Examples of multi-museum exhibit collaborations > > Hello, > > My institution, Cincinnati Museum Center, is collaborating with the Cincinnati Art Museum and the soon-to-open National Underground Railroad Freedom Center on an exhibition project focusing on the life and work of James Presley Ball (1825-1904), a free black man during the time of slavery who became an internationally recognized photographer, abolitionist, and entrepreneur (in a nutshell...) A significant part of Ball's early career was spent in Cincinnati where he opened several studios. We've also talked about how to expand this focus to potentially include a broader look at 19th-century African American photographers. > > > Our institutions envision developing two temporary exhibitions, one at the Cincinnati Art Museum and the other at Cincinnati Museum Center. The Freedom Center will spearhead public programming. After the temporary local exhibits close, each org will launch a traveling exhibit (one focused on art/aesthetics, the other more foucsed on an historical perspective of Ball, 19th-century AfAm photographers, social history of the time, etc.) We just received an NEH Consultation grant and are in the process of working with consultants and further defining themes, etc. > > The planning team would like to ask the Museum Listserv if there are any institutions who have embarked on similar projects involving several institutions focused on a specific issue/person/event/theme etc. with each offering a different approach to the subject. We are interested in marketing efforts, success/failure stories, feedback from visitors/participants, etc. Any input you could share is much appreciated by our planning team. > > Hope this makes sense....we just ended an all day planning session on our project and our heads are buzzing with ideas! > > Thanks for your time. (And, if anyone would like additional information on our project feel free to email me off-list.) > > Sincerely, > > > Amy C. Scrivner > > Development Manager of Government Funding > > Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal > > 1301 Western Avenue > > Cincinnati, OH 45203 > > (513) 287-7042 > > (513) 287-7036 fax > > [log in to unmask] > > > > Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal is a community treasure, hosting 1.4 million visitors, 145,000 school children, and over 700 community events annually. Originally built in 1933 as the Union Terminal train station, the building is a National Historic Landmark and was renovated and reopened as Cincinnati Museum Center in 1990. For more information, call (513) 287-7000 or 1-800-733-2077 or visit our website at www.cincymuseum.org > > > > > > ========================================================= > Important Subscriber Information: > > The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . 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